Reactive towards "dogs"

[Discussing Labradoodles & Goldendoodles]

Noah is developing a bad habit. He loves to watch tv, but lately, when he sees a dog on tv, he starts growling and barking. He has also started doing this in the car. If we pass someone walking a dog, he goes crazy and starts barking and growling. The thing I don't understand is that he really likes other dogs. He loves greeting dogs and while he doesn't play with other dogs, he loves to be around them. He's still submissive around other dogs, but not in a bad way. How do I curb this annoying behavior? It's easy to get him to stop barking when he's barking at the tv, but it's another thing when I'm driving.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

This is a hard one. My trainer told us to say "it's okay" or something to that effect in a really positive, high pitched voice whenever she was scared or reacted negatively to something. For example, Peri started refusing to put her harness on and would run around the entire house yipping away. We started with the "its okay Peri girl" and after about 2 weeks, she now sits for us to put the harness on. We have done that with other things too- barking out of the window at a passing dog....

[Dan, Judi, & Timbow]

We've also used the "it's ok" with Timbow and it's worked very well for us too. Maybe Noah's trying to protect you?

[Laura & Chewie]

I have the same barking problem with Chewie when I take him out, especially at night. Now that the ground is snow covered, I think he sees inanimate objects in the dark, against the snow and freaks out. It's actually funny, but the barking in a very quiet neighborhood at 10:00-10:30 at night is not. One time it was my neighbors garbage can that they hadn't rolled back into the garage yet...I think he was convinced it was some foreign alien...LOL.

[GBK]

My Kona does this too Laura, especially at night! Anything suspicious and she has to let me know..... She has gotten so much better lately, as her confidence has grown she has gotten more easy going. When she stops and looks, then a little back up, I encourage her to go closer and investigate.

[Natasha]

We use the "show me" command and then the "It's ok" command. Once, there really was something so I was glad I had him show me rather than me just always thinking that everything is ok and dismissing him. I learned an important lesson that day.

To be consistent, I say "show me" even when I know what it is that he's seeing.

I think that if he continues to bark while you are driving, you might try a "leave it" command to reinforce that he needs to refocus his attention. In our training group, one of our members was really having a tough time with the car and even "leave it" wasn't working, so our trainer advised her to toss something noisy (set of keys, can of pennies) at the back seat (she has an SUV so her dog is behind the seat) to help get the dog's attention. She had pretrained her dog with positive reinforcement that the noise means stop and down.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Guinness does bark at some dogs on TV. It's funny because it always seems to be the really naughty dogs (probably because they're making aggressive sounds). He's crated in the car, so I don't think he even sees other dogs as we're riding. There's also one dog a Daycare that he barks at when he first gets there. I think it's a "let's play" bark, because they are actually buddies, and his tail is wagging. If he barks at someone outside (in the yard or at the door), I go to the door look out and tell him "it's okay", and he'll stop. I think it's his way of warning me. Once he sees that I've checked it out and I'm okay with whoever it is, he stops and then gets excited because he thinks it's probably "company".

[Ginny Nightingale]

My dog Mattie, barks at dogs on TV but doesn't get too aggressive. My other dog has no idea that there are dogs on TV. I have a theory that it is related to whether or not they can see color. Mattie hates the car and sits very still when she is in there--she doesn't even look out the window (she sometimes gets carsick), so that isn't a problem. My other dog, Lyric doesn't see dogs on TV as I said, but will bark protectively in the yard if she sees anything like a person walking by, etc. Mattie will start in if she hears Lyric barking--it is a pain to have to quiet them down all the time. If I am walking Lyric on the road, she will really notice a car going by and will try to chase after it. So, I think that is some of the same protective behavior.
I, too, am using "leave it" and a cheerful voice to redirect them. It works, but it takes a while to get Lyric's attention. I will try "It's OK".

[Nugget's Family]

I am reading this thread with a great deal of interest because, although Nugget is not a TV watcher, she goes absolutely nuts in the car when anything walks by....dog, person, horse, whatever. It's maddening. She mostly rides in our minivan and if she's low enough on the seat or on the floor, she won't see anything, but if she's sitting up high, she sees everything and goes crazy. If we're on an interstate, she's fine because everything is just whizzing by, but on our slower road, it drives me crazy. I've tried the "It's OK" thing and it doesn't work at all. I've also tried crating her in the car, but she whines. She loves her harness and loves the car, but the barking in the car is enough to make your head spin.

She also goes ballistic if I run into the bank, library book drop, etc. and don't take her out of the car. She barks like mad for the first few minutes and then quiets down and goes to sleep. This behavior would make you think she had been abandoned somewhere at some point but since we got her at 10 weeks and she has been with us 24/7, we know that's not the case!! It makes us feel so horrible!! The one thing that we have tried that sort of works is to have someone sit in the middle row with a bag of treats and when she obeys the "quiet" command, she gets rewarded. But, I can't always count on having that extra person in the car!

I have actually wondered if the "Gentle Leader" helps to cut down on barking in the car? I know it is not intended for that, but if anyone has any thoughts on that, I would appreciate it. Unbelievably, I have actually considered a bark muzzle for the few times a year that I have to make a 5 hour car ride with her because the barking can totally shoot my nerves. I hate the idea....that's why I'm looking for other options.

[Karen & Lucy]

I have always used "It's OK, Lucy" when she gets real excited or starts barking at something she hears or sees. I first go see what she is barking at and then when it is nothing I tell her "it's Ok" and pat her on the head and she accepts that and settles right down. I too think it is a protection thing with them.

[Eva (Lilo and Rocky)]

have you tried a spray collar? Has worked great with my dogs for correcting various problems, including barking at the TV...

[shelly]

Really? I was thinking of getting one for Tori's barking. As I am reading... i heard that a lot of trainers said to use 'it's ok" to calm them down from barking. That's what I thought too.. and then one day she barked furiously at our vet and we said It;s ok and he said I shouldn't say that because that's implying that it's ok to bark.. he had to remove her from the examining room and she immediately calmed down. He said she was probably guarding US. Sometimes her barking when 'strangers' come is really scary, she gets so frenzied. My DH wanted to get a bark collar w/ the zap, but.... I will look into the spray collars, but sometimes "it's okay" to bark, isn't it?. Can you control them?

[Eva (Lilo and Rocky)]

yes, get one with a remote control, the range is 300 feet I think (google citronella spray collar and shop around - price varies quite a bit). Has worked wonders to solve a wide range of problems, including running after strangers, barking at the TV, growling at other dogs, and getting into other dogs' foods. I agree that it's OK to bark sometimes, and I actually LIKE that my dogs bark when someone comes up to our front door... there are many different barks if you listen, and I bet your dog was barking his "I'm unsure about this situation" bark at the vet, which is quite understandable ;)

This is the model I have:

http://www.teampetsupply.com/spraycommander.aspx